OECD http://bit.ly/188Grsu This working paper assesses opportunities and policies for green growth in the Chicago Tri-State Metropolitan Area. It first examines the Chicago metro-region’s economic and environmental performance and potential constraints to regional growth, and identifies emerging regional specialisations in green products and services. This is followed by a review of sector-specific policies that can … Continue reading »
Tagged with Land Use …
Landscape Consequences of Natural Gas Extraction in Allegheny and Susquehanna Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004–2010
US Geological Survey / by E. T. Slonecker, L. E. Milheim, C. M. Roig-Silva and A. R. Malizia, http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20131025 The combined effects of these two natural gas extraction methods [hydraulic fracturing and coalbed methane] create potentially serious patterns of disturbance on the landscape. This document quantifies the landscape changes and consequences of natural gas extraction … Continue reading »
Renewable Energy: Agencies Have Taken Steps Aimed at Improving the Permitting Process for Development on Federal Lands
Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-189 [From an E&E Daily article by Phil Taylor, sub. req'd] Permitting times for wind and solar projects on public lands were cut by more than half from 2006 to 2009 as the Obama administration bolstered staff and funding for renewable energy development, according to a newly released report from the Government … Continue reading »
Pathways to Urban Sustainability: A Focus on the Houston Metropolitan Region: Summary of a Workshop
National Research Council http://bit.ly/Zybzx0 The workshop was convened to explore the region’s approach to urban sustainability, with an emphasis on building the evidence base upon which new policies and programs might be developed. Participants examined how the interaction of various systems (natural and human systems; energy, water, and transportation systems) affected the region’s social, economic, … Continue reading »
National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska: Integrated Activity Plan — Record of Decision
Dept. of the Interior https://www.blm.gov/epl-front-office/projects/nepa/5251/42462/45213/NPR-A_FINAL_ROD_2-21-13.pdf [Environment News Service] Â Exploration and development of lands containing about three-quarters of the economically recoverable oil in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska will be permitted, under a Record of Decision signed today by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar… At the same time, the decision protects natural resources in the 23-million-acre … Continue reading »
As Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Develops, Firefighting Costs Will Soar
Headwaters Economics http://headwaterseconomics.org/interactive/wui-development-and-wildfire-costs A new set of interactive maps and tables show that 84 percent of private lands near fire-prone public forests in the West today remain undeveloped, and new building in these areas will increase future firefighting costs for U.S. taxpayers by billions of dollars. The report uses 2010 Census data to provide both … Continue reading »
A Complex Constellation: Displacement, Climate Change and Arctic People
Brookings / by Elizabeth Ferris http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2013/01/30-arctic-ferris What will be the impact and potential impact of climate change on the mobility of indigenous communities in the Arctic region. Will indigenous populations be forced to move elsewhere because of the effects of climate change? Will they be relocated by governments to protect them from an increasingly unstable … Continue reading »
Well-to-wheels Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Ethanol from Corn, Sugarcane and Cellulosic Biomass for US Use
Environmental Research Letters (2012, v7 n4, p045905 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/7/4/045905) / by Michael Wang, Jeongwoo Han, Jennifer B Dunn, Hao Cai and Amgad Elgowainy http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/4/045905/ [Green Car Congress] A new lifecycle analysis of five bioethanol production pathways by a team from Argonne National Laboratory led by Dr. Michael Wang found that, relative to petroleum gasoline, ethanol from … Continue reading »
Baseline and Projected Future Carbon Storage and Greenhouse-Gas Fluxes in Ecosystems of the Western United States
US Geological Survey / edited by Zhiliang Zhu and Bradley C. Reed http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1797/ Forests, grasslands and shrublands and other ecosystems in the West sequester nearly 100 million tons (90.9 million metric tons) of carbon each year, according to a Department of the Interior report released today… The report, authored by U.S. Geological Survey scientists, is … Continue reading »
West Is Best: How Public Lands in the West Create a Competitive Economic Advantage
Headwaters Economics http://headwaterseconomics.org/land/west-is-best-value-of-public-lands/ General findings: Higher-wage services industries, such as high-tech and health care, are leading the West’s job growth and diversifying the economy. Entrepreneurs and talented workers are choosing to work where they can enjoy outdoor recreation and natural landscapes. Increasingly, chambers of commerce and economic development associations in every western state are using … Continue reading »
